TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin WestJet airliner is now parked opposite Avis Rental Car

Here are two photos I took this morning of the WestJet airliner, which is parked opposite Avis Rental Car.

It looks to me as if the right wing has hinged violently, causing crinkling of the metal in the area near where the wing attaches to the body of the aircraft.

That plane is not going anywhere for some time.

One suggestion I heard yesterday: It could be sunk off the coast to create an artificial reef for divers.

I doubt that will happen. It is a massive undertaking to strip something like that of all the hazardous materials.

The jest wasn't serious -- merely a comment pointing to the complexity of the necessary repairs.

Oh, ok. Sorry.

Considering that the right engine drug on the runway for a considerable distance, it's amazing that the right wing didn't rip off. It speaks to the strength of that connection.

Here you can see the airplane on its new spot

Having some avionics background. I doubt very much this plane is going anywhere . A full inspection of the structure will have to take place once the right side has been dismantled to the raw struts. Then and only then after the insurance companies determine, what to do going forward. Taking it apart for parts isn't out of the question and dumping her out at sea!!! Could be cheaper than repairing her!!

Again, it would not be legal to just dump the plane at sea, without extensive removal of hazardous materials. I suspect we will be looking at that plane for a long time, one way or another. Still just very thankful no one was injured. Excellent job by the crew, keeping the plane straight on the runway..

It looks like the spar is either broken or has detached/separated from the fuselage. That sort of repair is way beyond the facilities available in St. Martin, and I, too, believe that the aircraft might end up being parted out and won't make it to Marana Airpark . I got a chuckle about making an artificial reef out of the aircraft: considering that St. Martin hasn't been able to move a small beached sailboat just a few hundred yards away, the task of creating a new reef from a 737 isn't going to happen. Bahrain created a sunken reef from an old Boeing 747, but their pockets are far deeper. I think that Turkey did the same as well. And there's the little commuter aircraft at Coral Gardens in the BVI

The Officials are currently checking on the Plane damages 👍

Zanshin-you are correct about the small sailboat (and the larger D Boat) still being there years later, but fortunately for SXM, this particular pile of p**p will be West Jet's responsibility to remove.

I have official word the engines, and seats will be sold off.

The wings will be bled of any petrochemicals and disposed off as reef.

The fuselage has been bid on my Captains Rib.

It will be moved to the current Toppers location and turning into a breastaurant

Or, in other words, no one knows until the insurance adjusters evaluate. AFLAC!!!!

So is other words you don't know sh@t but good humor. 😉

The only way out seems carving up in little pieces and ship those.

Good one!

@IslandsBoy - That reminds me of the true story of a banker who shipped 80,000 bricks via the USPS over 100 years ago to construct a new bank building, as it was cheaper than any alternative.

Carol, Of course!!! The demolition company would not dump this in the ocean without fully draining all fluids!!! SMH!!!

I stopped by to look at the jet again this morning, looking through the chain-link fence. There were four technicians -- insurance adjusters? engineers? -- in yellow safety vests discussing the situation under the injured wing. One was holding a cell phone; another was holding a laptop or iPad, entering data as the four technicians talked.

Sensing a lull in their conversation, I spoke up.

Me: Can I ask a question? Will this plane every fly again?

Technician: Yes.

Me: So it's reparable?

Technician: Yes.

Me: Will it be repaired here, or somehow moved to a different location?

Technician: That's up to the customer.

Me: Thanks! And good luck.

Thanks for the on-the-spot reporting!

What about the avionics you speak of?????

1 Engine replacement in the field is relatively standard, I think the airline would be able to get that done at PJIA.
2 The landing gear would have attached to the main spar (of the wing) but the attachment is probably designed to fail when overloaded before the spar is damaged. That is why you see damage to the upper surface where the gear leg came through but the wing is probaly still airworthy if the skin is repaired. If that is so it may "just" be a case of replacing the gear on site. It looks bad, it is bad but that is a very valuable asset and I'm sure they will repair it if possible.
Dave.

Don't really like to speculate, but...
The landing really didn't look that hard. Probably got a little sideways and hard enough to break the wheels and maybe damage the strut. I would guess strut replacement at most, and then ferry(no pax) it out for a complete inspection and repair.
Damage to the engine should be mostly cosmetic to the cowl.
Just my guess from several thousand miles away

All I know is they are gonna want to get that out of the way before the NYE rush of private jets! That or they will need to charge WestJet for taking up like 5 parking spots, which I am sure isn't cheap!

From the commentary by Juan Browne accompanying the YouTube video posted by TJ Trippe: "This aircraft will be fixed very easily. ... This aircraft should be back in service pretty quickly."

Yes, I was surprised to hear that. Very interesting video.

Thx for posting the recovery video, I hadn't seen that, great team effort by everyone at PJIA. We will be there in mid-November, wouldn't be surprised if it has flown out by then. Not sure if it was just cowling damage to the #2 engine though, was that fluid leaking onto the runway from a damaged accessory inside the cowling? If so may need some more extensive work than just a new cowling even if short of a full engine swap.
Dave.